Would The Partridge Family have lasted longer if Ricky never existed?

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by storrs19

I agree 100% with that assessment of their albums. The first three are great and I think they could've had more Top 20 hits had other tracks been chosen as singles than some that were. Also a real shame that "Listen to the sound" was never released by them as it's a great song.

Sound Magazine is such an excellent album and could have had several hit singles, but strangely I Woke Up In Love This Morning was the only hit. One Night Stand, Echo Valley, I'm On My Way Back Home, Summer Days, and 24 Hours A Day could have been hits as well. Sound Magazine plays like a greatest hits record, there's not a weak track on the album.

[Torgo]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

Ricky was A BILLION times worse than Oliver.

Couldn't agree more.

[opus]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

Aside from the episode where he's introduced, Ricky's not really involved in any plots, is he? He's comes in, says something wise beyond his years, sings a song, and goes away?

Isn't that bad enough?

[um]

Actually the question is very far reaching.
It is like asking if the Partridge Family would have never been thought up as a TV show if Bernard Slade were never born.

[MIKEPR]

While the scheduling info is correct David also announced before the 4th season that he was going to quit.

He mentions it in The 1998 VH-1 Behind The Music episode and TPF episode from the following year says the same.


Plus I can't see why anyone would have stopped watching because of Ricky.

[icecream]

A 5th season of regular Partridge Family would have been preferable to the awful 2200 A.D. spin-off. That is one of the worst shows I have ever seen. And if David Cassidy was really tired of the Partridges, he wouldn't have reprised his role there in the animated spin-off the very next season. And while Ricky was an awful addition, I would agree now that being sent against All in the Family killed it more as Ricky was gradually phased out. It is like ABC couldn't wait to get rid of their Friday 2 hour comedy block, as that block went away fall 1974 with The Brady Bunch and Room 222 also cancelled, and The Odd Couple moved elsewhere. It would be over a decade until ABC brought back a 2 hour Friday comedy block again in 1985.

[MIKEPR]

Originally Posted by catsrule

[COLOR="Green"]A 5th season of regular Partridge Family would have been preferable to the awful 2200 A.D. spin-off. That is one of the worst shows I have ever seen. And if David Cassidy was really tired of the Partridges, he wouldn't have reprised his role there in the animated spin-off the very next season.

Like I said I heard it from the man himself.

[TV Guy]

They should have done an episode where Ricky is decapitated in a terrible accident. And then Chris or Tracy could walk over to his severed head and say guilelessly, “You look like you need cheering up!’

[Schmo]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

That kid Ricky was AWFUL and his singing could give you a stroke! He was so horrible in every way. I cringed every time I saw him.
He definitely ruined the show.

Was it really the actor singing or some studio singer?

[Schmo]

Originally Posted by storrs19

I agree 100% with that assessment of their albums. The first three are great and I think they could've had more Top 20 hits had other tracks been chosen as singles than some that were. Also a real shame that "Listen to the sound" was never released by them as it's a great song.

Who actually sung on those albums?

[stevea]

Originally Posted by Schmo

Was it really the actor singing or some studio singer?

I can't imagine bringing in a real singer to lip sync to, who was that bad. I think I'd rather listen to fingernails on a chalkboard.

You know Ricky wasn't working out since he mercifully disappeared after a few episodes.

[TV Guy]

I think Shirley and David had him killed. They were required to gaze on adoringly as that supremely untalented kid sang his little numbers. But I’m pretty sure that one day, as soon as the camera was off, they snapped his neck. Bye Ricky!

[icecream]

Originally Posted by TV Guy

I think Shirley and David had him killed. They were required to gaze on adoringly as that supremely untalented kid sang his little numbers. But I’m pretty sure that one day, as soon as the camera was off, they snapped his neck. Bye Ricky!

[um]

Originally Posted by catsrule

A 5th season of regular Partridge Family would have been preferable to the awful 2200 A.D. spin-off. That is one of the worst shows I have ever seen. And if David Cassidy was really tired of the Partridges, he wouldn't have reprised his role there in the animated spin-off the very next season. And while Ricky was an awful addition, I would agree now that being sent against All in the Family killed it more as Ricky was gradually phased out. It is like ABC couldn't wait to get rid of their Friday 2 hour comedy block, as that block went away fall 1974 with The Brady Bunch and Room 222 also cancelled, and The Odd Couple moved elsewhere. It would be over a decade until ABC brought back a 2 hour Friday comedy block again in 1985.

The "2200 A.D." show was meant for Saturday morning kid's viewing and was not actually a "replacement" for the original Partridge Family TV show.
It did seem odd though that since a lot of teens were into the original Partridge Family, a Saturday-morning spinoff was ever made.

The cartoon show was more for kindergartners or maybe kids up to age 8. The teen fans of the original Partridge Family would know that the cartoon was based on the TV show and some might have watched the cartoon just because it was all they had of their favorite show. And of course by the time a lot of teens reached their mid to late teens they completely out-grew The Partridge Family music and the main heartthrob but, much younger kids who watch Saturday morning cartoons might not exactly have gotten the concept and might not have known the original "Partridge Family" before the cartoon.

It seems that a lot of the comments on this thread are from people who were not around when the original series first aired. There is a lot of misunderstanding of what happened with the course of the show in the 4 seasons that it lasted.
The fact is that the ratings were dwindling a good amount of time before it went off the air, even by early the third season. The people in charge of the show and TV time slots felt it was time to make a maneuver that would eventually take the show off the air completely. The addition of Ricky has
had speculations. Some say it was to attract viewers to a much younger audience than the teen audience that the show originally attracted sine that audience was growing a few years older and were no longer into the soft pop and the bubble gum image of the characters.
The show was definitely headed for the chopping block significantly before the addition of Ricky. The Partridge Family just Jumped The Shark. (Don't forget that the the very term was coined because someone noticed that the TV show "Happy Days" came to a point where the episodes were dull and stupid and lacked creativity or wit, and decided to use the term because of one particularly boring episode in which "Fonzie" supposedly jumps over a toy shark, which is an episode I never saw but looking at re-run snippets on YouTube it seems he never jumped over any shark and "Fonzie" was always a dislikable character who I think should have been shown being eaten by a shark . That would have gotten better ratings. I never could understand how "Fonzie" became so popular.

But also as far as the cancellation of The Partridge Family, as a lot of us know the Brady Bunch very much had the same fate coming to them and they too Jumped The Shark essentially at the same time. And they added "Cousin Oliver" in the same spirit.

I think I mentioned this in this or other posts. The Partridge Family, I would say, started out as a good concept because it was within the mood of the times, the early 1970's. The music even though it was easy-listening rather than Punk rock had its place.
However it should have lasted no more than two seasons. When it comes to TV shows, there are only re-hashes of plots and episodes and eventually trying to find new situations for main characters gets to where it cannot be done, and shows that lasted much longer such as All In The Family and MASH just stayed on the air too long even though they are now considered classic sitcoms.

[um]

Originally Posted by TV Guy

I think Shirley and David had him killed. They were required to gaze on adoringly as that supremely untalented kid sang his little numbers. But I’m pretty sure that one day, as soon as the camera was off, they snapped his neck. Bye Ricky!

Do you mean Shirley and David, or Shirley and "Keith" ?